Indiana Governor Mike Pence last week signed a so-called Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Senate Bill 101, that fundamentally changes the legal threshold for discrimination. It is the most sweeping of some 24 similar so-called RFRA bills that have been introduced in 15 states this year, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Basically, the law allows businesses to deny services to customers based on the religious beliefs of the business owners. Plain and simple.
Reaction has been swift, fierce, and growing.
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee was one of the first to quickly condemn the law and forbid non-essential city-funded travel to the state. His gay counterpart in Seattle, Ed Murray, did the same thing Tuesday. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors, led by gay members Scott Wiener and David Campos, are expected to vote next week on a similar resolution. Business leaders have also come out against the law. Angie's List scrapped a planned expansion �" and a reported 1,000 jobs �" in Indiana. San Francisco-based Salesforce said it wouldn't send workers there. As our sports columnist writes this week, opposition has come from top athletic conferences, organizations, players, coaches, and at least one college athletic director (who happens to have a gay son).
On Tuesday even NASCAR expressed disappointment in the law.
"We will not embrace nor participate in exclusion or intolerance," the auto racing organization said in a statement. "We are committed to diversity and inclusion with our sport and therefore will continue to welcome all competitors and fans at our events in the state of Indiana and anywhere else we race."
When NASCAR comes out against you, you've got a problem.
Pence gave a widely-panned interview on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos last Sunday in which he feigned bewilderment that so many people, companies, and political leaders were angry. This was a day after thousands protested the new law at the Statehouse. He sought to blame the media �" always a disingenuous ploy. And he was incorrect in several statements he made, like his claim that SB 101 only reinforces established law in the state.
According to Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, the law's language is so broadly written that someone can sue even without their religious beliefs having actually been burdened by simply suggesting that it is "likely" to occur. Pence knows full well that Indiana doesn't have sexual orientation and gender identity protections for its citizens.
Pence is a bigot.
As far back as his 2000 House race, he was spewing anti-gay rhetoric: "Congress should oppose any effort to put gay and lesbian relationships on an equal legal status with heterosexual marriage," his website stated.
Pence should not get a pass now. He meant to sign that law and was photographed with anti-gay backers during the ceremony. He does not like us.
But that personal dislike does not give him �" or state lawmakers, who passed the bill in the first place �" the right to blatantly discriminate under the guise of "religious freedom." People already enjoy freedom of religion. It's settled law that businesses must serve the public equally. States cannot carve out exceptions and let people discriminate because they don't agree with their views, religious or otherwise. We're done with Jim Crow.
Pence said this week that he's seeking to "clarify" the law, whatever that means. What he and the legislature need to do is repeal SB 101 and pass a law that offers job and housing protections for all residents, including sexual orientation and gender identity.
The state's largest newspaper, the Indianapolis Star , put it perfectly Tuesday in a rare front-page editorial: Fix This Now.